Team Avatar in the Quest for the Ring
by Shraddha
Summary: Aang discovers that he is connected to multiple dimensions of the earth and envisions the war of the Ring. Team Avatar travels to Middle-Earth to join the Fellowship. It is now Aang's destiny to also help restore the balance of Middle-Earth.
1. Chapter 1: A Balanced World

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender and the The Lord of the Rings or anything related to either of them. I'm a mere fan of both of them, trying to write a cross-over story between the two.

**Summary: **Aang discovers that he is connected to multiple dimensions of the earth and envisions the war of the Ring in Middle-Earth. He and his team travel to Middle-Earth to join the Fellowship in their quest. After having ended the war in his own world, it is now Aang's destiny to also help and restore the balance of Middle-Earth.

**Fiction Rated: **T - This story only includes action and language the way we know it from the original series of both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Lord of the Rings trilogy.

**Author's Notes:**

This story starts from the world of the Avatar, after the war between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world has been ended and peace and balance have been restored to the world. The first five chapters center around the lives of the main characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender after the war, and how they get involved in this new mission. The rest of the story takes place in Middle-Earth.

When reading the story, imagine the characters as they appear in the animated show and the movie trilogy. I tried to remain as loyal as possible to the original works, both of them. I have also tried to keep all the character cannon, the way we know them from the show, movies and books. So there aren't any new fictional/non-original characters or anything. You could see this as a kind of sequel to the original Avatar: The Last Airbender. I have also implemented certain facts of the official comic book sequel to the show, "Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise" in order to keep the characters etc. as consistent to the actual story events as possible.

When it comes to LOTR, I've seen the movies and read the books. As a lot of people are familiar with the movies, I based most of the story on those, but here and there I might use something from the books. I don't suppose that this will be that much of an issue.

Enjoy reading, and be sure to leave a review behind if you liked reading my story. :)

* * *

**Team Avatar in the Quest for the Ring**

Chapter 1: A Balanced World

"We're almost there," Aang said as he and his Lemur friend Momo were flying on Appa. Momo sat up straight in the saddle on Appa's back, examining the view below them.

It had been several months since Aang had ended the war by defeating Fire Lord Ozai. They had recently finished helping restore most of the physical damage that the Fire Nation had caused to the world during the war. He and his friends had to face the necessary difficulties during that process, even though the war itself had already ended. But thankfully, everything had turned out okay. Now that his burden of ending the war and restoring balance to the world was lifted off his shoulders, he thought back of the time before he had disappeared. The time he had spent home.

Even though he had a new family now, knowing that he was the only Airbender left, he still felt an emptiness within him that he couldn't get rid off. He had felt it earlier when he had just found out that the Air Nomads were extinct, but as he focused on his mission and with the company of his friends, it was easier to not think about it back then. Now that everything was over, he couldn't stop thinking about it. He wanted to spend some time in the Southern Air Temple to taste a little bit of his old home, and to be able to say good bye and completely let go of his past before moving on.

Appa flew over the rocky outcropping and treetops, revealing the tall spires of the Southern Air Temple behind them, before landing in the temple. Aang jumped off and patted Appa's head.

"You must be tired. Get some rest, buddy. I'll get you some hay in a little while." Appa licked Aang's face, causing the young Airbender to laugh.

Momo flew towards Aang and sat on his shoulder. They went for a small walk in the deserted temple, checking out the place. It hadn't changed a bit since they were there the last time.

Noticing the spot where Aang used to play Airball with his friends, and then the statue of monk Gyatso, Aang couldn't help but feel lonely. He let out a sigh. "Let's get to what I came here for." With that, Aang sat down in his meditating position.

ooooo

"Katara! Hey, down here! Open the gate!" Sokka waved to his sister as he stood in his boat in front of the great wall of the Southern Water Tribe.

"Impatient, much?" Katara asked from up above the icy fortress.

"Hurry up, I'm soaked and cold!" he yelled.

"Alright, alright." Katara used her Waterbending to create an opening in the wall made of ice that was now surrounding their village. Sokka entered with his boat, and clumsily got out of it.

Katara approached her brother, giggling as she noticed that his fishing trip hadn't really been successful. "Did your boomerang fail on you again during your fishing trip?"

"Boomerang never fails on me! I just went fishing for myself and only caught what I needed," Sokka said bravely.

"Right," Katara let out in disbelief. "Maybe you should join the other fishers next time. That way you also don't have to disturb me or one of the other Benders to come and open the gate just for you. Dad and Bato are going in a little while. You could join them," she suggested.

"No way, I'll come and go whenever I feel like!" Sokka announced. "Since the other Waterbenders got here and you got better at Bending, almost nothing can be done here without any Bender's help. I liked things better the way they were before everything got Waterbent around here."

"You mean, back when you were in charge?" Katara teased.

Sokka opened his mouth to say something, but found nothing to say.

"You actually think that your little watchtower made out of snow that collapsed almost every two hours beats our new walls made of ice?" Katara mused. "Or that you're a better leader than Pakku is?"

"No, but…" Sokka started. "Oh, never mind."

"It hasn't been long since we came back to a normal living at our own home without the constant travelling, Sokka. You just need to get used to everything the other Benders who got here from the North Pole have been working on while we were gone," she assured her brother.

"Yeah, you're probably right," Sokka gave in. "I do like how we have this beautiful palace here now where everyone from our village has their own room. It's not as big as the palace of the North Pole, but it sure beats the way our village looked like before," Sokka said, admiring their palace before he went in.

Katara stood still at how Sokka just gave in. "Wauw.. Your positive attitude kicked in really fast this time," she mumbled to herself. She followed her brother inside.

"You know, this might sound weird coming from me, but I really miss Aang and the others," Sokka then said, unpacking his stuff.

"Me too," Katara said, thinking about her boyfriend and their other friends. "We've become so used to being together all the time that it feels kind of odd now that we're separated."

"I get that Toph and Zuko have their own homes that they needed to get back to like we did, and that Suki had to take care of a few things at Kyoshi Island before moving in with us, but why did Aang have to go to the Southern Air Temple? It's not like anyone's waiting for him there and he usually does his meditating wherever he is. He could have done it here."

"I guess that since everyone was talking about going home, Aang was missing his own. It's not like he's had a real home since he got out of the iceberg. And in a way, the Southern Air Temple still is his home. Maybe he just needed to spend some time there," she said. "But he'll be here in about a month. So will the others for our next meet up."

"Yeah. Then I at least won't have to depend on you Waterbenders for everything when I can just get everywhere on Appa."

Katara used her bending water and smacked her brother in his face at that.

"Ouch! That hurt!" Sokka yelled, rubbing his cheek where she had hit him.

"Good."

ooooo

"If you need anything while we're gone, don't hesitate to call any of the servants."

"Mooom," Toph whined. "How many times do I have to tell you that I don't need to be taken care of. It's okay. I will manage alone. You can go to the event with Dad now."

"I can't help being worried, dear," Toph's mother said in a slightly concerned tone.

"Don't be, Mom," Toph reassured her mother.

Her mother smiled. "Have I told you how happy your father and I are that you came back home?"

"A couple times since I got back, yes."

"I've missed you so," her mother said, hugging her.

"I missed you too, Mom," Toph said. "Just, try not to be as over-protective as before. I can take care of myself," she added to remind her mother.

"I know. I'll try," her mother said. "I'm proud of you, Toph. We both are."

Toph smiled. "Thanks, Mom. Now go before it gets late."

Her mother left with her father, leaving Toph alone at home. Toph had never been happier. Her parents had finally accepted her, the real Toph. They still had a hard time adjusting to her, but they were trying. And that meant a lot to the young Earthbender. She finally got to be herself at home.

At first she had been worried about going home, wondering how her parents would respond and whether they'd give her the freedom she deserved. But they did. Her father had even helped her start her own Earthbending School, where she could teach the art to other Earthbenders and be an official Earthbending Master. She was a very successful teacher and had quite a lot of students, or Lily Livers as she called them, since there were many Earthbenders who wanted to learn Metalbending from her. Her parents were more than proud that their daughter had played a major role in the Avatar's quest of ending the war and restoring balance. Ever since they had gotten the letter Toph had sent to them with Katara's help, they had been waiting anxiously for their daughter to return home.

"Now let's go have some fun," Toph said to herself. With that she used her Earthbending to go underground and to Earth Rumble Six. She was about to give an Earthbending demonstration with the badger moles, along with a nice chunk of metal. This seemed like a promising new attraction instead of the Earthbending contests she used to participate with before as the Blind Bandit.

ooooo

"Fire Lord Zuko, is there any chance we can interview the Avatar for accurate information on the Air Nomads? This is necessary as most of the written history on their civilization is lost," one of the writers asked during the meeting.

"Of course," Zuko answered. "I will see the Avatar again next month. After that I will set up a meeting with him where you will be able to interview him. The Avatar has started a project to create an Air Temple Island in order to preserve the culture and traditions of the Air Nomads, so maybe you will be able to work together."

The writer nodded. "Thank you."

"You're all dismissed," Zuko announced. At this, everyone in the meeting room got up, bowed to the Fire Lord and left the room. When everyone was gone, Zuko too got up and made his way towards his own room to get some rest.

It had been a long day for him. Even after most of the damage the war had caused had been restored, there was a lot that they still needed to take care of. He had just finished another meeting with some writers and school principles. He did this to make sure that history books were rewritten and education systems altered properly, so the next generation would be able to learn the actual truth about the war of the past century.

Zuko entered his room and took off his royal cloak and diadem before sitting down on his bed. He let out a weary sigh and rubbed his head. Then, all of a sudden he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He hadn't even noticed that someone had come in.

He looked up to see his mother standing next to him. "Mom?" he asked, standing up. "You could have called me if you needed me."

Ursa smiled at her son. "Is my son so busy that I can't come and visit him?"

"No, Mom, of course not. You can visit me anytime," he answered to his mother. She had been back home for a couple of months now. His father had been reluctant about telling him his mother's whereabouts for quite some time. Whenever Zuko went to talk to him, he played many tricks on his son. He tried to influence Zuko to get him on his side, to turn his son into the Fire Lord he once was himself to have another war started. But Zuko didn't fall for it. He kept looking for his mother and eventually found her with the help of his friends. His mother had been welcomed home after that. Zuko was more than happy to have her back. For so long had he thought that she had died, that he'd never see her again, but she was finally back.

"You seem tensed, Zuko. Are you alright?" Ursa asked with a slight tone of concern in her voice.

"Everything is fine, Mom. It's just that there is so much that still needs to be done. Sometimes I can't believe that the Fire Nation was able to cause this much damage to the world. Restoring it all has taken so long and it's been so difficult. Things will never be the same as they had been before the war."

"It's okay, Zuko. The war cannot be undone, but your deeds have cleared the name of the Fire Nation," his mother reassured him, at which Zuko smiled. "You have taken care of more things for your people than any other leader could have done in the past months. You should take some time off for yourself. You deserve it, Zuko," she then suggested.

"I will, Mom," Zuko said to his mother. "What do you think of the two of us going to Ba Sing Se to visit Uncle and his tea shop next week? Then you and Uncle can come with me to the South Pole for the meet up with my friends."

"That sounds great," Ursa said. She kissed Zuko on his forehead and left the room, leaving her son behind to get some rest.

ooooo

**To be continued...**


	2. Chapter 2: Glimpses of a Different World

Chapter 2: Glimpses of a Different World

The air symbols on Aang's body were glowing as he was meditating in the Southern Air Temple, the place that was once his home. Along with fully letting go of his past, Aang needed to know what his next step as the Avatar was supposed to be.

During his quest of ending the war, he had learned that everything in the world and ultimately everything in the universe was connected to each other. Everything in the world had the very same origin. So by meditating and by becoming one with the universe, he should be able to see the state of the entire world and find out where he could be needed.

Aang cleared all his thoughts, allowing the pure cosmic energy to flow through his mind and body. He could feel himself leaving his body, just like when entering the Spirit World, and found himself on a familiar route within the universe that led to the giant spectral figure of his own.

Though it wasn't his own figure that caught his attention while he was there in the universe. His eyes fell on something else in the universe. Something that seemed like a planet, quite similar to his own for which he also mistook it for a while as he looked at it from a distance. As he focused on the planet, he felt himself getting closer to it. The planet grew bigger and bigger as the distance between him and the planet became smaller. The shape of the lands on this planet became more visible to him. This was definitely not his own planet.

Aang screamed as he felt that he was falling. Before he knew it, he was lying on the ground. Trying to get up, he coughed, as the air around him was dusty. It was a familiar feeling. He had felt it before when they fought the volcano to protect the village where Aunt Wu, the fortuneteller, lived. He looked up and wasn't surprised to see a giant volcano in front of him. There was a path that was going inside the volcano. A figure stood right there on the path. It was a very tall person in a huge black armor. He had his arm raised in triumph, or so it seemed. The scene was somewhat ill ominous and dark. Aang had a bad feeling about it. He then heard a voice in his head.

_"Middle-Earth will be mine… I will be Lord of the Earth..."_

That didn't sound good. Not good at all.

Aang's eyes widened in terror when he was brought closer to the creature where he could have a good look at him. Aang sighed in slight relief when he realized that the creature couldn't see him, though Aang could still sense the great amount of evil that the creature radiated. The creature was dark and completely clad in black, except for one thing; a golden ring with strange markings that he wore on his finger. It seemed almost too beautiful to be worn by a creature so dark and evil, but somehow it felt like the creature drew some of his strength from the ring. It made no sense to the young Avatar, but there was something evil about that ring.

He felt himself being teleported to another place. It was as if he needed to be in a different place to see something else. And when he got there, it became clear to Aang what it was that he had to see. He had gotten in something that seemed like a village. Only, it was dark and burning. People screamed in terror as they fled from horrible looking creatures that were lashing whips at them, killing at will and feasting on human flesh. The sight was terrifying and sickening.

He then saw several flashes of war in different places of the world, and great violence, ending badly for humans while the evil-looking creatures roared in victory. He saw glimpses of people, innocent people fleeing and getting killed when they weren't fast enough or if they resisted. Those who surrendered were taken as slaves and were treated horribly by the creatures.

Aang turned around, and suddenly found himself standing in a different place. There was a huge white tower. It reminded him of the palace from the Northern Water Tribe, as he knew it. It was beautiful, something very different than what he had seen earlier. But this place wasn't spared either. The sky grew darker, and like the other places Aang had seen, the white city was engulfed in flames.

He felt himself getting wrapped in a huge wave of heat as the flames in front of him grew bigger and bigger. As that happened, Aang started to feel different somehow. He felt smaller. Was that just because the flames around him were so big? He rubbed his head in confusion, only to find out that he had had hair; black, long, curly hair. Aang looked down at the rest of his body. He gasped when he saw that he was wearing different clothes and that his arrows were gone. And something had happened to his feet. They were bigger… and hairy! What was going on?!

When he looked back in front of him, he noticed that the flames had turned into a shape, a great eye on top of a huge black tower staring down at him. Aang heard the same voice again.

_"You cannot hide! I… see… you…! There is no life in the void… only… Death!"_

Aang yelled and snapped out from his vision in great shock. He gasped deeply for air. He looked around frantically to see where he was and inspected his body to see whether he had really changed. He felt relieved when he realized that he was back in the Southern Air Temple and into his own body.

Momo, who had been lying in front of Aang, got startled when Aang came back like this.

"Now there's a world that is seriously out of balance, Momo," Aang said, at which Momo looked somewhat puzzled since he had no clue what his human friend was talking about.

Momo went to sit in Aang's lap. The young Avatar patted the Lemur's back as he stared in front of him, recalling what he had just seen and trying to make any sense out of it.

"I don't get it," Aang then said. He used his Airbending to get on his feet, causing Momo to jump out of his lap. "So there is a war going on in this Middle-Earth place… But what am I supposed to do about it? It's not my world, and I don't even know how to get there… or if it's even real," Aang rambled, walking nervously around in circles. "But if I can't do anything, why did I see all that? And who was that person I had turned into?!"

The young Avatar rubbed his head in confusion. He let out a deep sigh, not knowing what to do. "Maybe it was just my imagination… like a bad dream," he guessed. "Yeah, just a bad dream like I had before the invasion at the Fire Nation."

Appa had come closer to Aang in the meantime and rubbed his nose against Aang's head, consoling his friend.

"Hey there, buddy," Aang said. "I still owe you some hay. I'll be right back."

As Aang went to collect hay for Appa, he couldn't stop thinking about what he had seen. It was horrifying, far worse than anything he had ever seen in any war. Even the Fire Nation soldiers hadn't been _that _cruel. What if it wasn't a dream? What if it was all real, and he could do something about it to stop it all?

"But how?" Aang thought out loud as he put the hay in front of Appa.

Aang's face lit up as he thought of something. He sat down and closed his eyes as he concentrated.

"Avatar Roku, I've seen a war, a huge war in another world. I think it's called Middle-Earth. What does my vision mean? What am I supposed to do? And how will I be able to get there?" Aang asked. "Please Avatar Roku, I need your guidance."

Just then, Avatar Roku appeared in front of Aang.

"As I am a part of you, I have seen your vision too, Aang," Roku said.

Aang opened his eyes to look at Roku. "You have? So what does it mean? Is there really a world out there that needs me?"

"I am not sure what it means exactly, Aang. But you had this vision for a reason."

"It does feel like I'm supposed to do something about that war. But I don't know anything about that place... Does it even exist? I don't understand how there can even be another Earth out there!" Aang said in total confusion.

"When I was young and still learning to master Air, there was a monk who had an interesting theory. He believed in the existence of different dimensions of the Earth. Each dimension has its own history and is full of life just like our world," Roku explained. "No one really believed it at that time, but seeing your vision, it might actually be true. If this dimension does exist then, as the Avatar, you are connected to it just like you are to this world. For life is not tied to this world only, but to the entire universe. If there is really a war going on in that world, then it is your duty to help ending it and restore balance, Aang."

"Okay," Aang said with a tone of uncertainty as he tried to digest the information. "Why did I turn into another person in my vision?" he then asked.

"I do not have the answer to that," Roku replied. "But it is up to you to solve this mystery."

"Right," Aang said to himself. "So, how do I find out more about that world? How can I get there?" Aang asked.

"I'm not entirely sure, but you might be able to enter that dimension just the way you enter the Spirit World. The Spirit World is, after all, a different dimension than you are in right now. Though that will be very difficult, as it will take a lot more power and energy to transport you to that dimension both mentally and physically," Roku said. "There is a secret library in the Air Temple Sanctuary where some records of the monks are kept. If the monk has written anything at all about his theory, then you should be able to find it there. Good luck, Aang."

With that, Avatar Roku disappeared.

"It seems like we got ourselves a new mission," he said to himself while looking at both Appa and Momo.

Aang jumped on top of Appa's head and into the saddle, looking for something. As he found himself paper and ink, he wrote a few letters that he addressed to his friends – or in Toph's case, her parents. He attached the letters to Appa's horns. Then he went to find extra hay and some fruit, and put it in Appa's saddle.

"Appa, Momo, I need you two to do something for me."

Appa made some noise, indicating that he was ready to do anything for Aang. Momo jumped on Appa's head and chirped in agreement.

"You need to get to Suki on Kyoshi Island, Toph in the Earth Kingdom and Zuko in the Fire Nation. Give them these letters and bring them to the South Pole as soon as possible, while I try to find more information about this Middle-Earth. I will get there myself when I'm done. We'll meet again there," Aang said. He placed his hand on Appa's forehead and gave him the message visually to make sure he got it right.

Appa growled. He was ready to leave.

"There is some food for the both of you in Appa's saddle. Take care of each other," Aang said. He hugged Appa one last time. "Now go, buddy. Fly fast."

Aang watched Appa and Momo leave before turning around and making his way to the Air Temple Sanctuary. There was work to be done, and he needed to have a meeting with his friends soon about leaving for Middle-Earth.

ooooo


	3. Chapter 3: Unexpected Arrivals

Chapter 3: Unexpected Arrivals

It was another normal day at the South Pole, with nothing really exciting and just the usual stuff going on. There Sokka was, sitting on the ice and sharpening his boomerang as he was thinking of what to do.

Katara walked past her brother, holding a basket she had just filled with water, and noticed that her older brother seemed bored. "What's wrong with you?"

Sokka sighed and lay down. "Nothing… I just miss the action," he said.

"You can go fishing or something," Katara suggested.

"Already done that."

"Don't you have your sword training to do?" Katara asked.

"Good idea," Sokka said, lighting up for a second. "Only, I don't have a sword, remember? My space sword fell during the war."

"So, why don't you just get another one?"

"Sword fighting isn't the same with another sword. That was the one that was really mine. It marked my identity, just like boomerang," he said, looking at his boomerang.

Katara raised her eyebrow. "Is it really that, or are you just too lazy to do anything?"

"I'm not lazy!" Sokka protested.

"Well, if you're not, and if you don't have anything to do at the moment, I have a lot of chores left for which I could use a little help," Katara said.

Sokka just looked at the sky, not responding to his sister.

Katara squeezed her eyes at her brother in annoyance. "Well go ahead, and pretend not to have heard that. You're useless," she muttered as she walked away.

"Hey!" Sokka said. "Is it just me or is that cloud there moving really fast against the wind?"

Katara turned around and looked at the thing in the sky her brother was referring to. "I don't think that is a cloud…"

"It's Appa!" Sokka shouted excitedly. "They're here!"

"But they're two weeks early," Katara remarked.

"Who cares?" Sokka asked. "The point is that we're about to have some fun again!"

Sokka waved frantically as Appa lowered to the ground and landed in front of them, and he squealed in excitement when he saw Suki getting out of Appa's saddle. "Suki!" He ran towards her and hugged her tightly. "I missed you so much!"

Suki blushed as her boyfriend greeted her like that. After her, Toph and Zuko also appeared, stretching their bodies after their long flight. Momo jumped off Appa's head and went to sit on Katara's shoulder.

"Hey there, Momo," Katara greeted the Lemur while she stroked his face. Momo chirped in reply. She looked back at the others who had come on Appa.

Sokka was too busy with Suki, that he hadn't noticed the others yet, but Katara was a little surprised to see them. Especially when she realized that Aang wasn't with them.

"Hey guys! It's really great to see you all again, but why are you early? And where is Aang?" she asked. It was only then that Sokka also noticed that Aang wasn't there while everyone else was.

"You mean Aang isn't here yet?" Zuko asked.

"No, he isn't," Sokka answered.

"That's odd," Katara said, thinking about what could have happened that they all got there on Appa, but without Aang. That wasn't how they had planned to come to the South Pole. "So how did you guys get here on Appa without Aang?" the Waterbender asked again.

"Well, Appa and Momo got to our places all of a sudden and they had letters that Aang sent us," Toph said, handing her letter to Katara.

"Yeah," Suki replied. "Aang asked us to go with Appa and get to the South Pole as soon as possible. There was something he needed to talk to us about. Something important," she added.

"Well, Aang better get here soon," Zuko then said. "I had to cancel a vacation I planned with my mother to be able to get here earlier."

"And my parents weren't too pleased about sending me off this soon after I got home," Toph replied.

"I suppose he'll be here soon if it's really that urgent," Katara reassured, judging the importance of it from Toph's letter.

"I wish I had brought more clothes. It's really cold out here," Suki said, changing the topic.

"Let me take care of that for you!" Sokka said, as he put his arms around his girlfriend.

"Get a room, you two," Toph said, punching Sokka's arm.

"Ouch!" Sokka shouted, rubbing the spot where Toph punched him. "Why do you all always have to pick me to pick on?"

Katara just shook her head at her brother. "Come with me, guys. Let's get you warm inside while we wait for Aang."

"Katara?" Toph asked.

"Yes?" Katara asked in return as she turned to face Toph.

"My vision is all blurry here on the ice. Can I get a little help?" she asked.

Katara giggled. "Of course, Toph." Katara took Toph's hand and led everyone to the palace.

ooooo

"This place is even worse than the desert!" Toph exclaimed as she tried to get used to being on and surrounded by all the ice and snow. "I really don't get it how you guys can actually live here."

"It's not that bad, Toph," Katara said. "You'll get used to it."

"Easy for you to say. I can't see or bend anything here. It's getting annoying."

"Don't worry," Zuko started. "The only things you're missing out on are dead animal skins," he said as he watched Momo who was checking out the head of a dead polar bear.

They were all sitting around a fire in Katara's room, covered in blankets.

"Anyone in for more soup?" Katara asked.

"I'd like another bowl!" Sokka exclaimed, holding out his bowl.

Katara poured him some and looked at the others. "Anyone else?"

"No, thanks," Toph said as she had enough. Zuko and Suki shook their heads with a slight feeling of disgust as they watched Sokka savoring his soup. The stewed sea prunes didn't really do it for them.

"That's okay," Katara said, assuming that her friends didn't like the recipe just the way Aang hated it. "I'm going to bring some to my Dad."

The others nodded as Katara took a bowl and went out to find her father.

Katara saw her father standing on the balcony of the icy palace and climbed up to get to him. He was looking at the stars in the sky before he turned to his daughter who was approaching him. Katara smiled warmly at her father as she handed him the soup.

"Thank you, dear," Hakoda said as he took the bowl from her.

Katara turned to look at the stars as well. "The stars are beautiful, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are," he started. "They remind me of your mother and the times we spent together."

Katara brought her hand to her necklace as she too thought of her mother. Looking back up at the sky, she suddenly saw something familiar.

"What is that?" her father asked as he saw it too.

"Is that…?" Katara started as she wondered what it was that she saw in the dark sky, but then realized what, or rather who it was exactly. "It's Aang!" she revealed excitedly. Her father also recognized the young Avatar as he flew closer.

Aang recognized Katara and her father as he was flying towards the Water Palace of the South Pole using his glider. He had been flying for hours and was exhausted. The books he was carrying in his bag didn't make it easier for him. But he was glad he finally got there. And he was glad to see Katara again.

As he landed on the balcony, he noticed Katara running towards him. She pulled him in a tight hug. "It's so good to see you again, Aang!"

She blushed slightly as they parted from the hug. Aang smiled at her and then turned to her father.

"Welcome to the South Pole, Aang," Hakoda welcomed him.

"Thank you, sir," Aang said, greeting Katara's father.

"Come, Aang. The others have arrived here already. We have all been waiting for you," Katara said.

Aang nodded. He followed Katara downstairs and to her room where the others were waiting.

ooooo

"Guys, look who's here!" Katara exclaimed when she and her boyfriend got back to her room.

"Twinkle Toes?" Toph guessed.

"Aang!" Sokka shouted.

"It _is_ you!" Toph exclaimed.

Sokka got up and hugged his friend. Zuko and Toph did the same.

"It's good to see you all again," Aang said, smiling at his friends. Momo climbed up and sat on his shoulder. "Hey there, buddy," Aang started, patting Momo's back. "I'm proud of you. I hope you and Appa have been good to each other."

Momo started to chirp and make sounds, as if trying to tell Aang what their trip had been like.

"So, what was so important that you called us all here?" Suki then asked.

"You will never believe what I saw and what I discovered." Aang fell silent for a second as he thought about it.

"What is it, sweetie?" Katara asked, as she gently put her hand on his shoulder.

"Look, I'm really tired. Let's all get some sleep and I'll explain everything in the morning."

With that, Aang lay down and fell asleep instantly as he was exhausted. Katara took some blankets and covered Aang with them. He was so tired that he hadn't even bothered to cover himself warmly, or even to get something to eat.

The others looked at each other, somewhat concerned. Sokka noticed some books and maps in Aang's bag and reached for them.

"Sokka!" Katara called in a whispering, but pointed voice, indicating to him not to touch Aang's stuff. "Just wait until tomorrow. Go to sleep," she whispered.

With that, everyone went to sleep.

ooooo

**To be continued…**


	4. Chapter 4: Team Avatar Returns

Chapter 4: Team Avatar Returns

Even in his sleep, the young Avatar could not stop worrying about what he had envisioned. It had been two weeks since he first found out about Middle-Earth and the war that was about to start there according to his vision, and he still hadn't done anything about it. What if he was late again? Aang didn't even want to think about what would happen if his vision came true and Middle-Earth would fall into the hands of the Great Eye, of which he had found out that it belonged to the Dark Lord Sauron.

In the midst of his worries, Aang started to dream. He felt as if he was in a different place. It was nighttime. He seemed to be standing on a mountain, or some kind of high hill. Aang turned to see himself getting surrounded by some tall figures wearing black robes. They were carrying swords. Aang froze as he saw that they were approaching him. He couldn't understand why he wasn't able to do anything. He had no control over his own body and it was frustrating that he couldn't do anything. If he'd had full control over himself, he'd have used his Bending to try and scare away the creatures.

He looked down, only to find out that he wasn't wearing his own clothes. It was the same as in his other vision, when he had turned into another person. This time, Aang was also carrying a sword in his hand.

Looking back at the creatures in front of him, Aang started to panic, not knowing what to do. Dropping the sword he was holding, he moved backwards but then tripped and fell to the ground. Aang then heard something strange. Whispers called out to him. Aang felt his hand moving to his breast pocket. Out of it, he took the one Ring he had seen Sauron wearing in his other vision.

Looking back at the creatures in black, Aang saw that one of them was coming closer to him. In his vision, he put on the Ring, and as soon he did that, everything around him changed. His vision got blurry. But he could see the face of the creature standing in front of him. It appeared like a ghostly king, an evil king. The King reached for the Ring, and Aang could feel that the Ring itself was actually trying to get to the King. But Aang pulled back his hand, not allowing the Ring to be taken from him. In response to that, the King revealed his sword and stabbed Aang in his shoulder.

"Aaaahh!" Aang yelled as he woke up violently and grabbed his shoulder. He was panting as he tried to recover from his dream. Looking down at his body, he realized that he was wearing his own clothes again. He examined his shoulder to find that nothing had happened to it and that it was just fine. But Aang could have sworn that he had felt the blade pierce his shoulder, and he could still feel the pain. He realized that he hadn't just dreamt. It was another vision. And he had turned into the other person he had turned into before yet again.

"Aang, are you all right?" a worried voice asked him. Aang, who was still breathing heavily, turned to look at Katara and the rest of his friends who seemed very concerned about him.

ooooo

"Should we wake him up?" Sokka asked as he and the rest had gotten up already. They were waiting for Aang to wake up and fill them in about what had happened that made it so important for them to meet.

"I don't think we should," Suki said to her boyfriend.

"No, Sokka," Katara said pointedly. "You saw how exhausted he was when he got here last night. Just let him rest."

"But I'm curious about what he has to say," Sokka said. "He's been stalling to tell us the story since yesterday. The anticipation is killing me!"

"I'm kinda curious too," Toph agreed.

"Look, I know we're all very curious about it all, but let's just wait for Aang to wake up and let him tell us everything in his own way," Katara decided.

"Uh, Katara?" Zuko, who had been sitting silently, called.

"What is it, Zuko?"

"Something's wrong with Aang," he said.

Katara turned to look at Aang, and she saw that he was shaking and sweating. "Oh no," was all she could say. She had seen him like this before when he was having nightmares. She started to approach him, but then Aang yelled as he woke up with a start, breathing heavily. He was holding his shoulder as if in pain there and checked out his body, probably to check whether he was fine.

"Aang, are you all right?" Katara asked worriedly. The last time she'd seen him like this was months ago when their world needed saving. This had to be something very serious.

Aang looked back at her, and saw that all his friends were concerned about him. "I'm fine," was all Aang said. "I'm going to bathe. I will be right back." He got up and started to leave the room when he thought of something. "Katara?"

"Yes, Aang?"

"Can you call your Dad and Master Pakku to the meeting too?"

Katara nodded and watched as Aang left the room. She turned to look at the rest. Now they really had to know what Aang had to say.

ooooo

Aang let out a sigh before looking up to everyone who was watching him. They were waiting for him to explain everything, tell them why he had called them all to the South Pole earlier like that, what was so urgent to discuss together and what had been going on with him. Aang hadn't really thought of how to tell everything, so he hoped that whatever he was going to say would make sense to his friends.

"Aang?" Hakoda asked. "What is it that you wanted to tell us?"

"I was at the Southern Air Temple to meditate and to.. think about.. stuff," he started somewhat unsure of himself. "When I was there," he continued, "I.. I had a vision." Aang fell silent as he thought of how to say it. He took a deep breath and continued, "What I saw is about ten times bigger than everything we ever went through," he said, trying to give them a notion of the severity of what he had seen.

All the members of the meeting looked at Aang in awe. What could he have possibly seen that was bigger than the war they had been through?

"Well?" Zuko asked when Aang didn't continue. "What did you see?"

"I had a vision of a terrible war," Aang answered.

"But the war already ended. We ended it," Sokka said, slightly confused because of what Aang said.

"Yes, and I don't think it's very likely that we'll have to fight another war here anytime soon," Suki replied.

"I agree," Katara said, confused as well. "Maybe you were just having nightmares about our war?" she guessed. "It wouldn't be the first time for you to dream about your past like that."

Aang just having had a dream about the war was the only thing that made sense to them.

"I'm not talking about our war," Aang made clear. "The war I envisioned is from a different world called Middle-Earth."

At this, everyone looked at Aang as if he had grown a second head.

"Are you really sure that this isn't just a dream of yours, Twinkle Toes?" Toph asked. "There can't be another world out there, let alone a war going on in another world."

"That's what I thought too at first. But with Avatar Roku's help and some information I found in a hidden library in the Air Temple Sanctuary, I found out that what I saw in my vision is real," Aang answered and continued, "A monk once found out that there are different dimensions of the world and, as the Avatar, I happen to be connected to all of them," he then said, pausing for a while to allow his friends to take in what he was explaining. "This Middle-Earth I'm talking about, somehow the monk knew about it and had it all written. I've been reading about its history," he said, pointing at the books he found.

"Can you describe this war you saw, Aang?" Master Pakku asked as he considered everything Aang had told them so far.

Aang nodded. "This war has a great history. I'm not very sure whether I understood it all properly, but there is this Dark Lord. His name is Sauron. He was a student of the first Dark Lord called Morgoth and he grew to be very powerful after his Master was defeated," Aang started to explain. He took some of the books out of his bag while he continued to tell the story. "This Sauron tried to take over the world with his powers to become the Lord of the Earth," Aang told them.

Sokka frowned. "So it's just the same old? Some Dark Lord with power trying to take over the world and claim lordship? I think we had a pretty similar situation here in our world with the Fire Lord," he said; at which Zuko shot him a glare. "No offense," Sokka added quickly.

"No. It's not the same at all," Aang said. "Sauron's armies… they were huge. Bigger than any army I've ever seen. And that is saying a lot," he started. "And his soldiers… they weren't quite human. I think they're called Orcs," he said, and paused for a bit. "There were other monster-like creatures as well. I saw what they were capable of in my vision and how they were treating innocent people. It was beyond horrible. During our war, the Fire Nation was ruthless and they did a lot of bad things. But Sauron and all those creatures on his side," he thought back of everything he saw in his vision and continued, "they're far worse and a lot more terrifying."

Aang went through the book and showed some paintings that portrayed some of the dark creatures.

"Eww," Suki let out in disgust when she saw them.

"What do they look like?" Toph asked as she couldn't see.

"Those things are plain monsters," Katara answered while she examined the paintings. They were unlike anything she had ever seen before. "They're gross."

Meanwhile, Aang continued his story. "This book says that there are a lot of different races in Middle-Earth, other than the dark ones we just saw… It's like how we have the different nations, but… different," he said. "There are Elves, Men, Dwarfs and some beings called Hobbits. I also read something about Wizards… There was a lot of information about these races, but that's not really important right now…" he trailed off as he read something in the book he was holding. He looked back up at the rest to continue. "Anyways, Sauron was very close to victory, but the Elves and Men worked together and fought against him and his armies… That must have been around 3,000 years ago if I'm right. They won and Sauron was destroyed."

"This doesn't make any sense," Zuko started. "If the war ended 3,000 years ago, why do we have to worry about it now?" he asked.

"Because, if I understood my vision correctly, the Dark Lord has returned and the war is about to begin again," Aang replied. "They defeated him back then, but he wasn't really killed. Somehow, his soul survived. Now he's back and Middle-Earth is in danger again. Sauron is regrouping his armies and planning on attacking again. And all those horrible things I saw in my vision will come true," he said.

"Are you saying that this Sauron came back to life?" Hakoda asked surprised, wondering how that was even possible.

"Sort of. His soul now has the shape of a giant eye made of fire and he resides on top of a huge tower. He doesn't have his full strength back yet, but I think that's only a matter of time," Aang answered. "Since he was able to return like that while everyone thought he was dead, I suppose he must be extremely powerful."

"A giant eye made of fire…" Sokka thought out loud. "Is it just me or is there always fire involved with bad people and Dark Lords? It's like fire itself is altogether evil!"

"Sokka!" Suki said, giving her boyfriend a nudge.

"What?" Sokka asked, completely oblivious.

"You're sitting in front of the Fire Lord. Think before you say anything," Suki replied, whispering. Sokka looked in front of him at a very annoyed Zuko.

"Oh," Sokka said as he realized it. "Sorry," he apologized, rubbing his head in awkwardness.

"There was also a great deal about a Ring that Sauron had created in the book I read. A Ring of Power," Aang continued. "He made it with some kind of evil magic inside a volcano in a place called Mordor. Somehow, the Ring made Sauron more powerful and a bigger threat to the world," he explained, thinking back about his vision.

"A Ring of Power?" Katara asked. "How does something like that even work?"

"I'm not really sure. But I suppose it's just magic," Aang answered. "The book says that during the war that took place 3,000 years ago, Sauron was destroyed after the Ring was cut from his hand by a guy named Isildur. He took the Ring. That's where the book ended though, so I couldn't find anything about what happened to the Ring after that," Aang explained. "In both my visions, I turned into someone else. In the vision I had this morning, I.. or the person I turned into had Sauron's Ring. In my first vision the Eye of Sauron was looking at me and in the second, a dark creature tried to take the Ring from me. I guess Sauron wants his Ring back and he's looking for it now that he has returned," he said, trying to figure out everything. "I could sense the power of the Ring in my vision and it was pure evil. It felt really powerful. I think it's the Ring that has something to do with Sauron's return and the war that is about to start in Middle-Earth."

"So, the war is about the Ring Sauron lost?" Zuko asked, not entirely understanding how the Ring was involved exactly.

"Yes and no. I don't think it's just about the Ring. He wants to conquer the world," Aang answered. "But since it made him more powerful, I think the Ring is a crucial thing that might just decide whether Sauron will be able to win the war or not," he said. "Either way, I saw what will happen in Middle-Earth if Sauron wins the war and I can't let that happen. I have to help them defeat Sauron once and for all," he said with determination, standing up. "I'm going to Middle-Earth to help restore balance to it."

"I'm with you, Aang," Katara said, standing up as well.

Aang smiled at her, nodding his head as he appreciated it. "Are you guys with me?"

"Are you kidding?" Sokka asked. "Of course I'm with you! This is exactly the kind of action I've been missing!"

"Toph? What about you?" Aang asked, turning to face her.

"Count me in! I am ready to kick some monster-butt!" she said, punching the palm of her hand as she did.

"I would love to join you on your mission, Aang," Suki then spoke and held her boyfriend's hand as they were in this together.

"Zuko, are you with us?" Aang asked.

Zuko stood up, not sure of what to do. "I am, but… I can't just leave everything behind and go to another world like that. I have responsibilities to my people in the Fire Nation," he said.

"Don't worry about that, Fire Lord Zuko," Master Pakku started reassuringly. "I will notify Iroh. I am sure that your uncle will be able to take your place and look after the Fire Nation for as long as you're gone."

Zuko nodded in approval. "I'm in," he decided.

Aang turned to Pakku. "Master Pakku, when I'm gone I won't be able to look after our world for a while. I don't expect any trouble, but I wanted to ask if the Order of the White Lotus would be willing to look after everything while I'm gone. Just to be sure."

Pakku nodded. "It would be our honor, Aang. We will take care of everything. You can leave for Middle-Earth without any worries."

Aang then turned to look at Sokka and Katara's father. "Sir, would you give Sokka and Katara permission to join me on my task?"

Since they were so used to making their own decisions when they were with Aang, Katara and Sokka hadn't even thought to ask whether their father was okay with it. They realized that Aang was right to ask their father's permission for this as it wasn't just any other nation they were going to. They would be going to a whole different world and there was no telling for how long they'd be there and if they'd make it back. Sokka and Katara both looked at their Dad, hoping that he'd be okay with them going to Middle-Earth with Aang.

"Well," Hakoda started. "It's going to be a quest full of danger unlike anything they have ever dealt with before… No father would ever send his children to any dangerous place on purpose," he said.

Sokka and Katara exchanged worried looks, afraid that their father wasn't going to let them go.

Hakoda stood up and continued, "But my children have both proven to be brave, independent and able to protect themselves and others well. They're both true warriors." He turned to look at his children. "I would be proud to let them join a mission like this." Hakoda smiled at his children who were both relieved at their father's decision. "But only if you both promise to be extra careful," he added.

"Of course, Dad!" Katara exclaimed, grateful that they could go. "We will be!"

"Toph, would your parents let you go?" Aang asked her.

"They'd be worried sick," Toph started. "But they wouldn't keep me from going with you. They've realized that I can make my own decisions and look after myself."

Aang nodded with a smile, glad that his friends could join him without any problems.

"So it's official then," Sokka started. "Team Avatar is back!"

ooooo

**To be continued…**


	5. Chapter 5: Tales of Leaving the World

Chapter 5: Tales of Leaving the World

_The tale of Katara & Toph_

"Okay, you can do this," the young Earthbender whispered to herself. She was leaning against the outside wall of Katara's room, and carefully tried to make her way to the center of the icy palace, which was a public meeting space. Using her hands to feel the wall, she took little steps sideways in the right direction. She was a little afraid, as she could not 'see' anything at all. Her Bending was worthless on the South Pole. She took a deep breath and used her foot to feel if the place where she was about to set it down wasn't some kind of pool of icy cold water. Feeling solid ice, she took her next step.

"Toph, what are doing?" came Katara's sudden voice, causing the Earthbender to startle. Toph let out a scream as she fell into the pool that was right next to her, and in which she would have fallen if she'd taken another step.

"Toph!" Katara dropped her bag and hurried towards her blind friend, helping her out of the water. Once she was out, Katara used her Bending to get Toph dry.

"Why did you startle me?" Toph asked in utter annoyance because of her unexpected water dip.

"You're the one who scared me first. Toph, you can't swim or see. What were you thinking going off on your own like that? What if I wasn't here when you fell in the water?" Katara asked, turning on her protective motherly mode.

"I wouldn't have fallen if you hadn't startled me like that," Toph replied, holding on to the fact that she would have made it on her own.

Katara let out a sigh, not really feeling like getting into an argument with Toph. "Let's go gather supplies for the journey." She picked up her bag, took Toph's hand, and together they made their way to collect the supplies that they would need.

ooooo

After having gathered enough food for the entire team for at least a few days, Katara and Toph returned to the room.

"So, what else are we taking to Middle-Earth?" Toph asked as Katara helped her sit down.

"Just sleeping bags and a couple of blankets," Katara answered. "And of course, everyone should take their own weapons with them if they need any."

"What about the tents? And spark rocks to make a fire? Extra clothes for cold weather? Don't you guys need more things for setting up camp? And for cooking and cleaning?" Toph asked.

Katara eyed Toph suspiciously. Toph normally wasn't the one to ever worry about what they'd need and what not. "I thought it was better to travel as light as possible. If Aang is really going to leave Appa and Momo behind like he said this morning, we all have to carry our own weight. Besides, what do we need tents for when we have two Earthbenders who can make tents wherever we camp… Or spark rocks when we have two Firebenders on the team? And cleaning should also be easy with two Waterbenders around," she replied.

Toph smiled. "I like the way you're thinking," she said. "But what do we do if we get split up in the middle of nowhere?"

Katara frowned. "Split up? What are you talking about?" she asked. "We never really split up before. The only time we did was during the final battle against the Fire Nation. And that was only for a little while."

"You never know…" Toph said.

"Is everything alright, Toph?" Katara asked, thinking that something was worrying the Earthbender.

"Everything's fine. Why would something be wrong?"

"Toph, something like what the group will need for the journey or getting split up from the group for whatever reason isn't something you would ever worry about. You've been on your own before and you've always managed to take care of yourself. So why is it worrying you now?" Katara asked.

"My blindness has never been a problem for me before, Katara," Toph started. "I've always been able to see and take care of everything."

"Just not here," Katara added softly, realizing what was bugging her friend.

"I always hated being considered a helpless girl while I wasn't. But having spent a few days here, I realize that I hate being actually helpless more. I can't do anything on my own here, and I can't stand having to need help with everything," Toph explained. "And this is just the South Pole of our own world! We don't know anything about this Middle-Earth. What am I going to do if I end up alone there in a place where I can't see or bend? How will I protect myself?"

Katara took in everything Toph explained, and realized why Toph was afraid. She had every reason to be afraid.

"It'll be okay, Toph," Katara started to console.

"You don't understand, Katara. I have never been scared before in my life. This is the first time I am, and there's nothing I can do about it!"

Katara sat down next to Toph and put her hand on her shoulder. "We're all a bit concerned about what to expect once we get to Middle-Earth. But remember, we're going together, as a team. We'll always stick together and look after each other. That's what friends are for," Katara explained. "I know you, Toph. You're smart and you're strong. You'll be fine. It's going to be those Orcs who will have to worry about having you as an enemy."

Toph smiled, a bit more assured of everything after having talked to her friend. "Thanks, Katara," she said. "Just don't tell anyone about this!"

Katara laughed. "I won't." She got up to pack the sleeping bags and blankets.

"I wanted to ask you something else," Toph then started.

Katara turned around. "What is it?"

"Can you help me write a letter to my parents? I want them to know where we're going and that they don't have to worry about me," she explained.

"Of course. I'd be happy to help you with that," Katara answered. Her face lit when she got an idea. "I have an idea. What do you think of having your own metal stick? You could always use it in a fight or as a seeing stick if we should ever get to a place where you can't see properly."

"That would be great, Katara. Thanks," Toph replied gratefully.

ooooo

_The tale of Suki & Sokka_

"Suki?" Sokka asked as he was searching for his girlfriend. "Suki!" he called again.

He walked to Katara's room and poked his head inside. "Is Suki here?" he asked to Katara and Toph who were the only ones there.

"Nope," Katara answered, packing a blanket she'd just folded. "Haven't seen her since this morning."

"Okay," Sokka said in reply, and continued his search for Suki.

He got to the public meeting space in the center of the palace. He found many people there, but not the person he was looking for.

He checked the alleys. The ones he'd already checked were all empty, except for one where he found Zuko training with his broadswords. "Hey, have you seen Suki around?"

Zuko paused his training and turned to face Sokka. He shook his head.

"Oh, okay. Thanks anyway," Sokka said and turned to leave. The young warrior could hear Zuko resume his training and he turned to watch him for a while. Zuko looked more than fierce and was really good with his swords, Sokka admitted to himself. He remembered his own Master telling him that he was pretty good with the ways of the sword himself, and that he had the capability of becoming a great Swords Master himself one day. Snapping out of his thoughts, he turned around and left the alley.

As he walked further, he took out his boomerang. He threw it in the air with his right hand, and caught it back with his left when it returned. Looking down at the weapon that he loved most, he put it back, and continued to look for his girlfriend.

ooooo

Suki was in another empty alley, a place that was perfect for her to practice. She was wearing her Kyoshi Warrior's costume, except for the face paint. She checked her appearance in the water of a nearby fountain, still trying to get used to wearing her outfit without the make up.

"Oh, there you are. I've been looking for you everywhere," Sokka, who'd finally found her, said, causing Suki to turn away from the fountain to look at him. "You're beautiful, Suki. You don't have to check your reflection to be sure," he said confidently.

Suki blushed at Sokka's comment. "Why were you looking for me?" she asked.

"I wanted to-," he started, but then noticed something. "Something's not right about your costume," he stated. "Why is your make up missing?"

"Oh, I was thinking of not wearing the face paint when we go to Middle-Earth. That's what I was checking. I was thinking that if the people there aren't familiar with this kind of make up, they might think of it as strange, or even get frightened because of it," she explained.

"Hmm, makes sense," Sokka replied.

"It does feel kind of weird wearing my dress without the face paint, but I guess I'll get used to it," she continued. "So, what did you want to say earlier?" Suki then asked.

"I actually wanted to spend some time with you before we leave tomorrow morning. Once we start the mission in Middle-Earth, I'm not sure if we can enjoy some quiet with just the two of us alone," Sokka said.

Suki smiled, and kissed her boyfriend on his cheek. "I would love to. Let me finish my training and then we'll meet up again."

"Alright!" Sokka exclaimed excitedly. "Meet me in my room after your training."

Suki nodded. She took out her sword, and started training. Sokka watched her for a little while, and then he left for his room.

He cleaned and prepared it for the date he'd planned with his girlfriend. He sat down and waited for her to come. As he waited, he took out his boomerang once more and examined it. His weapon had been his favorite forever, and he'd always been able to use it well. Though it was rather small compared to most weapons, it was handy and had been effective so far. Now he wondered whether his boomerang would be enough to fight with in Middle-Earth, especially after he'd seen Zuko and Suki practice with their swords. He would need another weapon. He needed his sword to fight with again. It was a shame that he had lost the sword he'd made himself in his last fight during the war, but he knew he needed a new one. There wasn't enough time to make a new sword before they left their world, so he got up and made his way to the armory room.

He checked out the several spears, swords and armors that were stored in the room, and pondered about which weapon to choose.

"Sokka?"

Sokka turned around to see his father entering the room. "Dad? I just came to find a weapon to use during the mission," he told his father.

"I thought so. That's why I came here looking for you. The armory would be just the place for my warrior to prepare for his journey." Hakoda then revealed his own sword that he was holding. He handed it to his son. "Here. I wanted you to have this," he said.

Sokka looked at it in awe. "You're giving me your own sword?"

"Yes, son. I won't be needing it anyway," Hakoda answered with a small, but proud, smile.

Sokka smiled. "Thanks, Dad. This means a lot to me."

"I know this isn't the same as your special space sword, but it has served me well during the war. I hope it'll do the same for you."

"Are you kidding me? You've always been my example, Dad. Your sword is the perfect sword for me. It's the best I could ever wish for!" Sokka said, happier than ever.

"Look after your sister well. And always remember to protect your friends no matter what."

"I will, Dad. I promise."

Hakoda pulled his son in a hug. "I'm proud of you, son."

ooooo

After training and having taken a bath to get freshen up, Suki entered her boyfriend's room. Sokka had made a small fire in the center of the room, and he'd placed extra blankets to sit on. There was food. 'Of course there was,' Suki thought to herself. Sokka was sitting behind the fire and admiring the sword he was holding. Suki shook her head at that. Typically Sokka to get attached to his belongings, especially weapons.

"I see you got a new sword," Suki stated.

It was then that Sokka noticed his girlfriend had gotten there already. He jumped to his feet. "Oh, hey!" he said, still holding on to his sword. Then, holding his sword in front of him, "It's not new. It's my Dad's. He just gave it to me," he told her.

"That's great, Sokka. It must mean a lot to you."

"It does," he said with admiration for the sword.

"But are you really going to hold that throughout our date?" she asked.

"I just want to get used to it," he said, patting the sword as if it was his pet animal. He looked up at Suki. "You're right, today's supposed to be about us alone," he said. He put the sword away, and then went to stand in front of his girlfriend. He held her hands and kissed her gently. He smiled when they parted from the kiss. "Yes, today is just about the two of us."

ooooo

_The tale of Aang & Zuko_

Lemur chirps filled the air as Momo was trying to beat the Avatar in the game they were playing. It was a form of hide and seek that Aang had invented. The Avatar had made several snowmen in his own form. One of the snowmen was Aang himself covered in snow. It was up to Momo to find Aang. Appa was lying at the side of the field they were playing on, not really engaging with the game, but enjoying a short nap.

Momo screeched and jumped on another statue of Aang, causing the snow to collapse, as Aang wasn't inside the statue. Doing so, he revealed Zuko who had just gotten there. The sudden appearance of the Fire Lord startled the Lemur at first. He ran off behind another statue, coincidentally the one where Aang was hiding in. Aang removed the snow off of him with a laugh. "You found me! Good job, Momo!"

Aang's words caught Appa's attention for a brief time, and the Bison looked up at his friends. As nothing urgent was going on, he went back to his peaceful slumber.

"You're playing with your pets? Don't you have any preparations to take care of?" came Zuko's voice, catching Aang's attention.

"Nope. Katara and Toph are taking care of our supplies. I've packed some books and maps of Middle-Earth. Other than that, there is not much to prepare. I was just having a bit of fun with Appa and Momo," the Avatar answered.

"I can see that," was Zuko's response. "Have you told them about your decision?" he then asked, referring to Aang's decision he'd discussed with the team that morning.

Aang's expression went from cheerful to a little sad. "Not yet. I'll tell them later," he said, patting Momo who was now sitting on the Avatar's shoulder.

"I'm going to train for a while. Care to join me?" Zuko asked.

"Sure. You go ahead, I'll join you later," Aang replied.

Zuko replied with a nod, then left the area, leaving Aang alone with both his pets.

ooooo

Zuko had gotten to an empty alley, where he started training with his broadswords. He practiced a few routine moves, when he was suddenly interrupted by a question. "Hey, have you seen Suki around?"

Zuko turned to face Sokka. He shook his head in reply.

"Oh, okay. Thanks anyway."

Zuko resumed his training without any further talk to Sokka.

After having practiced with the swords for some time, he placed them on his back, deciding to practice his Firebending for a while.

Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath, and shot a few fire blasts by punching and kicking in the air. He was careful not to shoot any fire too far, preventing anything from the giant ice palace to melt.

He thought of what to practice next, and decided to do some breathing exercises before continuing with Firebending. He sat down in a meditating position, and started to breathe by inhaling deeply, holding his breath, and exhaling. He continued this for several minutes until he felt completely calm after having practiced with the sword.

He got up again. Not wanting to hold in, he checked in what direction he was going to fire his next shot without causing any damage to his surroundings. He took his stance, followed by a deep breath and allowed the energy to stream out of his right hand in the form of fire. Only, to his biggest surprise, it wasn't fire that he shot. It was lightning that he released from his fingertips and that was shot in the air.

Zuko's eyes widened in surprise and he gasped. "Wow!" He got out of his stance immediately, and tried to digest what had just happened. He had shot lightning. He had done it! After having tried for so long without any luck, it had worked this time while he hadn't even tried to create lightning on purpose. Zuko couldn't believe it. He sat down, excited and amazed at the same time.

He remembered what his uncle had told him about lightning. _"Lightning is a pure expression of Firebending… To perform the technique requires peace of mind."_

A smile formed on Zuko's lips. It had worked. He had done it! His uncle would be so proud.

He was brought back to reality when he heard someone running towards him. When he looked up, it was Aang who had just gotten there.

"Did you just shoot lightning?" the Avatar asked him.

Zuko nodded with a proud smile. "It took me so long to master this," he said softly. "Uncle will be so happy when he learns that I finally learned it."

"It was amazing!" Aang exclaimed. "Can you do it again?"

Zuko stood up. He signaled Aang to step back. Thinking back about when his uncle explained him the method of lightning, he took his stance. He held his right hand to his side with two fingers extended, and then he began to create lightning by rotating his arm in a circular motion.

Aang watched his Firebending Master in awe as the lightning emerged from Zuko's fingertips.

Zuko mimicked the motion with his left arm. Bringing his two hands together, he lunged forward and extended his right hand, shooting lightning into the air. Standing up straight and lowering his arms, the Firebender looked down at both his hands. "This is wonderful. I still can't believe I mastered this."

Aang smiled at Zuko, still amazed by his Firebending teacher's new unlocked skill. "It could come in handy in a fight."

Zuko nodded at his former pupil.

"You should tell your uncle about this. Pakku will visit him anyway. You could write to him," Aang suggested.

"I will," Zuko replied. "Let's finish training first."

ooooo

Zuko sat on the floor in Katara's room. In front him were a sheet of paper, an ink jar and a brush. Dipping the bristles in the ink, he started writing to his uncle.

_Dear Uncle,_

_It's been a long time since we last met, and here I am writing to you about leaving. Mother and I were supposed to meet you in your Tea Shop next week. I'm sorry to say that I won't be there. The Avatar needs me on his next quest. It might sound a little weird, but for this quest we're going to another world… or another dimension of the Earth the way Aang explained it. It's called Middle-Earth. I don't suppose you've heard of this place before? We have another war to end there. I had to think back of when you told me what my destiny is, to restore balance in the world. I just got another chance of doing that with the Avatar._

_You might be thinking that I'm leaving behind my nation. Master Pakku will talk to you about this, but I was hoping for you to take my place as Fire Lord for as long as I am gone. I will instruct master Pakku with the status of several projects that are currently going on, so he can give you an update. You can also access my agenda at the palace. You can ask Mom about that._

_I have some other great news. I created lightning for the first time in my life. I'm both excited and grateful. I couldn't have done it without your guidance. You told me that I would only be able to master lightning after dealing with the turmoil inside me. I had to get rid of my feelings of shame and anger. Now I understand why. You were right, you always were. I owe you a big thank you. I can't really describe how it feels when creating lightning, but mastering it yourself, you probably know what I'm talking about. All I can say is that I really experience my mind being at peace. And it is an amazing feeling._

_I apologize for the inconvenience of having to take my place for as long as I'm gone. But with you in the Fire Nation, I know I don't have to worry about anything. I'll be forever grateful to you, Uncle. I'll tell you everything about this quest when we get back._

_Thank you for everything, Uncle. I will miss you._

_Until our next meeting._

_Your nephew,_

_Zuko_

After writing a letter to his uncle, Zuko wrote two more for his mother and Mai. When he finished, he left the room to deliver the letters to Master Pakku.

ooooo

A loud growl escaped from Appa's mouth and the Bison lay down disappointedly when he heard the news. Momo, agreeing with Appa, screeched in protest.

"Try to understand, guys! I'm doing this for your own protection!" Aang tried to reason.

The animals wouldn't listen. Aang sighed deeply. "Look, I had a hard time reaching this decision. I will miss you two a lot. But I really, really don't want to risk taking you to Middle-Earth. It will be more dangerous than you can even imagine. And I can't lose you guys."

Momo went to sit on Aang's shoulder, rubbing his head against Aang's face. Aang patted the Lemur, and then he went to hug Appa. "I'm sorry, guys. I really am. But I have no other choice," he said, still hugging Appa tightly.

"I will look after them," came Pakku's voice from behind. The Master approached the Avatar and his pets. "You don't have to worry about a single thing while you're gone. The Order will look after everything, and I'll take responsibility for your pets."

"Thank you, Master. If you ever need to travel long distances, you can take Appa."

Pakku nodded.

It was then that Zuko arrived with his letters. "Master Pakku, I have written letters to my uncle, mother and my girlfriend. Can I ask you to take these with you when you visit my uncle?"

"I'll travel to Ba Sing Se to visit Iroh after you all leave for Middle-Earth tomorrow morning. I'll deliver the letters and take him to the Fire Nation. Then I'll inform the other members of the Order of our new job during the Avatar's absence."

"Thank you," both Aang and Zuko said.

"It's getting late. I suggest you both go to sleep. You'll have a tough time ahead of you and you could use all the rest you can get," Pakku then said. With that, he left.

Aang patted Appa and Momo one last time. "You guys go to sleep. We'll see each other again in the morning."

ooooo

As Aang and Zuko headed towards the room, Zuko couldn't help but bring up something he'd been thinking about for some time. Ever since Aang had mentioned that what he had envisioned was a lot worse than the war they'd been through, the young Fire Lord couldn't stop thinking about the severity of Middle-Earth's situation. Having experienced the war in many cruel ways, and knowing the damage the Fire Nation had caused like no other, he thought nothing else could be worse than the war their world had been through. The fact that this was according to Aang worried him.

"Aang, there's something I wanted to talk to you about," he started.

"What is it, Zuko?" Aang asked in return.

"When you were telling us about Middle-Earth and the war that is about to start there, you told us that it's a lot worse than the war we've been through," Zuko started to explain.

"Yes," Aang replied.

"I don't understand how that is even possible," Zuko stated. "My great-grandfather had every Air Nomad killed, you being the exception. Zhao tried to destroy the moon, and with that almost the entire world. Then my father tried to wipe out the entire Earth Kingdom of Ba Sing Se," he said. "The Fire Nation had destroyed so much and taken so many lives. How can any other war be worse than this?"

"I agree that the Fire Nation had done many evil things during the war. But I was serious about the war of Middle-Earth being worse than the one we ended," the Avatar started. "The Fire Nation armies consisted of human beings, and not every person from the Fire Nation was a ruthless monster. Sauron's armies consist only of monsters, and all of them are dark and evil. I've seen them torture innocent people and actually feed on human flesh. They're terrifying, bloodthirsty creatures. They serve the Dark Lord and know nothing other than killing others," Aang explained.

"I can't even imagine something like that," Zuko admitted. "You really saw them feed on human flesh?"

He nodded. "They're savages and they're horrible," Aang continued. "During the many fights I fought here, I never had to kill a Fire Nation soldier. I had other ways of teaching them a lesson, or of getting away from them. I didn't even have to kill Ozai to end the war. But this won't work in Middle-Earth, because those creatures won't stop until everyone is dead. And some of them are very powerful. Sauron's armies were a lot bigger than any army I've ever seen. If Sauron wins the war and the people of Middle-Earth lose their freedom, they will suffer a lot at the hands of Sauron's minions. They'll be tortured in many ways and die terrible deaths. The world will be covered in a complete darkness. And we have to stop that from happening," he explained.

"Is that why you're leaving Appa and Momo behind?" Zuko asked. "Because of the dark creatures?"

"Yes," Aang answered. "It's a place we're all unfamiliar with, and if there is so much evil that we have to fight against, it's safer for them to stay here. I don't want to take any risks when it comes to their safety."

"I think I'd do the same if I were in your place," Zuko said. "You're doing the right thing."

ooooo

_Leaving the World_

The members of Team Avatar were more than ready to leave for Middle-Earth. They had said their goodbyes, packed their belongings and they were all set to leave. Toph wore her regular Earthbending outfit, along with a pair of sole-less shoes. She was holding a metal stick that Katara had helped her arrange. Suki was wearing her Kyoshi outfit, though without the face paint. Closing her fans, she put them in her belt along with her sword. Zuko had his broadswords that he carried on his back. Katara had her water pouch, and Aang had his glider along with a water pouch of his own that Katara had given him. Sokka had his boomerang and the sword that he'd received from his Father. They all carried bags with their own belongings.

"Isn't that Dad's sword?" Katara asked her brother when she noticed the sword.

"As a matter of fact, it is," Sokka answered.

Katara giggled. "Does this one _mark_ your identity good enough?" she asked teasingly.

"As a matter of fact, it _does_," he answered in a similar tone as his earlier comment, holding his sword protectively.

Katara noticed that Aang looked somewhat down. She put her hand on his shoulder in a reassuring manner. "They'll be fine, Aang. Don't worry too much about them. Leaving Appa and Momo behind for their safety and to assist the Order of the White Lotus was the right decision."

"While I do think that we'd have bigger chances of survival _with_ Appa, I too think that you did the right thing," Sokka stated.

Aang gave a small smile to his friends. "I'm glad you guys agree with me. Now let's get to Middle-Earth."

"One question," Suki started. "How are we all going to get there exactly?" she asked.

"I am not really sure…" Aang answered with a sheepish grin.

"You're not sure?" Sokka asked.

"How can you not be sure about this?" Zuko then asked.

"Great," Toph started. "If we can't get there at all, all the preparations and the anticipation have been for nothing."

"Well, Roku told me a way. But it has never been tried before, so this is going to be a first. It will be difficult though to get us all both mentally and physically to Middle-Earth," the Avatar explained.

"What are we gonna do if it doesn't work?" Suki asked.

"We'll see about that afterwards. Let's give it a try first," Aang said. "We have to meditate together. And then wait until something happens," he continued. "Let's all sit in a circle and hold hands," he then instructed.

They all did as Aang told them.

"Now close your eyes, and try to focus on the energy flowing through us," Aang said. "Don't be distracted by anything around us, just concentrate while I try to make sure that we get transported to Middle-Earth," he said calmly.

ooooo

"So, how much longer is it going to take for us to finally get there?" Toph asked, interrupting the silence. It felt like they had been meditating like that for hours, but nothing had happened yet.

"Hey! I never said that this was going to be easy. It's a first time for me to travel to another world like this _and_ to bring other people with me there!" Aang said, somewhat frustrated that it hadn't worked yet.

"It's okay, Aang," Katara said. "Maybe you can tell us more about the different peoples of Middle-Earth so we'll know what to expect from them when we get there," she then suggested to get his mind on something else. She was also interested in knowing about them. And perhaps, knowing more about them would help them focus more properly on the world they were trying to get to.

Aang sighed and lay down on his back. "There are the Elves, they are wise and immortal. Plus, they have very sharp eyes and pointy ears. Their preferred weapon is a bow," he started.

"Pointy ears," Sokka said with a chuckle. "I'd love to see that," he added sarcastically.

"Shut up, Ponytail!" Katara quipped to her brother, then wondered, "How can it be that they're immortal? Don't they ever grow old, and die eventually?"

"They don't age, and can't die from disease or illness the way I understood it," Aang answered. "They can only die from too much grief or if they are killed."

He went on to the next race. "Then there are the Dwarfs. They're known as great miners and craftsmen. They're very stubborn, and they're also known for their love of meat and beer. Their preferred weapon is the axe," Aang went on. "Oh, and they hate the Elves."

"Now them I would love to meet," Sokka mumbled under his breath.

"Why would anyone hate the Elves? They sound like wonderful people to me," Katara stated.

Aang shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. Maybe we'll find out in Middle-Earth if we ever get there." He continued, "Furthermore, we have Men. They're just mortal and like normal people, I suppose. The book also said that they're easily corrupted and most of them desire power."

Zuko scoffed. "Tell me something new."

"Lastly, there are Hobbits. They're also called Halflings, because they're about half the size of Men. They mostly love things that grow, anything concerning plants and earth," Aang explained. "They have large, hairy feet and they walk barefoot," he added.

"I think we would get along greatly," Toph said, thinking that they probably had a lot in common.

"It was one of those I turned into in my visions," Aang said, sitting up. "I think I must be connected to that particular Hobbit somehow."

"You also mentioned Wizards?" Suki asked.

"Oh, right," Aang remembered. "They can do magic," he said.

"What about the Orcs?" Sokka asked. "If we will have to fight them, it'd be good to know about them too."

Zuko looked at Aang, recalling what they had talked about the evening before.

"Well, there's more than just Orcs. There are many dark creatures and they're capable of many cruel things," he said. "The armies consisted mostly of Orcs though. What I read about them is really strange," Aang stated. "The book said that they were Elves once, but they were taken by the first Dark Lord named Morgoth. They were tortured and brainwashed, then turned into monsters."

"That's just awful," Katara said.

"That's about all I know."

"Okay. Why don't we try concentrating again, and see if we can get there this time?" Katara then suggested.

"Good idea," Aang said. With that they reformed the circle and held hands again.

As they meditated, Aang's air symbols started to glow as he concentrated on the place he was trying to get them all to. It didn't take long this time for it to work, because shortly after, a bluish portal appeared above the members of Team Avatar.

ooooo

**To be continued…**


	6. Chapter 6: A Council Interrupted, Pt I

Chapter 6: A Council Interrupted - Part I

_Rivendell, Middle-Earth_

A council was being held in Rivendell, led by Lord Elrond. This Council was going to decide what was going to happen to the one Ring that had been found. A congregation of Men, Elves and Dwarfs, along with Gandalf the Grey, the Wizard and Frodo Baggins, a Hobbit from the Shire sat in a semi-circle around a pedestal made of stone.

Frodo, who had inherited the Ring from his uncle Bilbo, had been carrying it for some time now. Together with Sam, and later also Merry and Pippin, they went from the Shire to the village of Bree, and were then brought to Rivendell by a Ranger called Strider. They had been through a lot on the way, but made it to the house of Elrond safely. Now he was part of a Council that was about to decide what would happen next.

"Strangers from distant lands, friends of old. You have been summoned here to answer the threat of Mordor," Lord Elrond started. "Middle-Earth stands upon the brink of destruction. None can escape it. You will unite or you will fall. Each race is bound to this fate, this one doom," he said, then gesturing to the pedestal and looking at Frodo, "Bring forth the Ring, Frodo."

At that, Frodo stood up. He made his way to the pedestal and put the Ring on top of it.

"So it is true…" a man from the South remarked.

Frodo returned to his seat beside Gandalf, and felt somewhat relieved now that it seemed to him that his task was completed and the burden of the Ring lifted off his shoulders. The members of the Council all stared at the Ring, mesmerized by it. The Ring started whispering to each of them in turn. Each person could hear it differently.

"The Doom of Men," a man said.

The man of the South got up to address the Council. "In a dream, I saw the Eastern sky grow dark. But in the West a pale light lingered. A voice was crying: Your doom is near at hand," he started as he approached the Ring on the plinth. "Isildur's Bane is found," he added.

He reached for the Ring, trying to take it. Gandalf and Elrond exchanged slightly concerned looks as the man's fingers hovered above the Ring.

"Isildur's Bane…" he repeated.

Elrond leapt up and addressed the man loudly. "Boromir!"

The Ring started to utter a harsh chant at which Gandalf got up and also chanted the same in Black Speech. Thunder crackled and the sky darkened. The members of the Council stared around them in fear and total confusion while Gandalf chanted,

_"Ash nazg durbatulûk, ash nazg gimbatul, ash nazg thrakatulûk agh burzum-ishi krimpatul."_

The voice of the Ring died away and the people resumed their seats, horrified.

Elrond, who clearly didn't like hearing the Black Speech, rebuked Gandalf strongly. "Never before has any voice uttered the words of that tongue here in Imladris!"

"I do not ask your pardon, Master Elrond," Gandalf started. "For the Black Speech of Mordor may yet be heard in every corner of the West! The Ring is altogether evil!" With that, Gandalf returned to his seat.

"It is a gift," Boromir then started. "A gift to the foes of Mordor," he continued, getting up as he started to pace. "Why not use this Ring? Long has my father, the Steward of Gondor, kept the forces of Mordor at bay. By the blood of our people are your lands kept safe! Give Gondor the weapon of the enemy. Let us use it against him!"

"You cannot wield it!" Strider, the Ranger interrupted. "None of us can. The One Ring answers to Sauron alone. It has no other master."

Boromir looked at the Ranger with despise. "And what would a Ranger know of this matter?"

At Boromir's comment, an Elf stood up. "This is no mere Ranger," he cut in. "He is Aragorn, son of Arathorn. You owe him your allegiance."

"Aragorn?" Boromir asked, unable to believe it. "This is Isildur's heir?"

"And heir to the throne of Gondor," the Elf added.

_"Havo dad, Legolas,"_ Aragorn said in the tongue of the Elves, requesting Legolas to sit down in an attempt to change the subject.

Boromir looked at Aragorn, refusing to accept him as his king. "Gondor has no King. Gondor needs no King." He resumed his seat, unhappy about how things had turned out at the Council so far.

"Aragorn is right," Gandalf spoke after a short silence. "We cannot use it."

"You have only one choice," Lord Elrond then said. "The Ring must be destroyed," he said with a tone of urge.

"Then what are we waiting for?" a Dwarf who had been silent the entire time said. He grabbed his axe and made his way to the pedestal, determined about destroying the Ring right then and there. With a roar, the Dwarf struck the Ring with full force, but without any luck. The Dwarf got repelled back, thrown to the ground while his axe got shattered in many pieces.

At the Dwarf's assault on the Ring, Frodo saw the Eye of Sauron in his mind and winced in pain. The Ring, however, was still intact, now surrounded by the shards of the axe.

"The Ring cannot be destroyed, Gimli, son of Glóin, by any craft that we here possess," Elrond started to explain. "The Ring was made in the fires of Mount Doom. Only there it can be unmade. It must be taken deep into Mordor and cast back into the fiery chasm from whence it came," he said and paused for a bit. "One of you must do this."

The Council remained silent until Boromir spoke again. "One does not simply walk into Mordor. Its black gates are guarded by more than just Orcs. There is evil there that does not sleep. And the Great Eye is ever watchful. It is a barren wasteland, riddled with fire and ash and dust. The very air you breathe is a poisonous fume. Not with ten thousand men could you do this. It is folly!"

Legolas stood up indignantly. "Have you heard nothing Lord Elrond has said? The Ring must be destroyed!"

Gimli, who seemed to have certain issues with the Elf, got onto his feet. "And I suppose you think you're the one to do it?!"

"And if we fail, what then?!" Boromir cut in. "What happens when Sauron takes back what is his?!"

Having ignored Boromir's statement, but still focusing on the Elf, Gimli announced, "I will be dead before I see the Ring in the hands of an Elf!"

Several arguments erupted amongst the Council members, starting a commotion.

"Never trust an Elf!" Gimli shouted.

"Do you not understand that while we bicker amongst ourselves, Sauron's power grows?!" Gandalf tried to reason. "None can escape it! You'll all be destroyed!"

Lord Elrond remained seated, his mind filled with worry and fear. If the representatives of each race invited to the Council could not even remain in peace together for a little while, and if they could not think alike or reach a decision, how would they ever unite to save the Middle-Earth?

Frodo, still sitting in his chair, watched the Ring somewhat uneasily. The angry figures of the other Council members were reflected on the surface of the Ring. As the intensity of the arguments increased, Frodo heard the evil chanting in the Black Speech in his mind. All of a sudden, flames flared up, engulfing the surface of the Ring and taking all the figures of the fighting people with them, indicating the doom of all if the Council would continue to fight amongst each other.

Slowly, determination dawned on Frodo's face. He stood up and took a few steps towards the arguing Council, trying to make himself audible to them.

"I will take it!" he shouted, though his voice was unheard. "I will take it!" Frodo shouted again.

The argument started to die down. Gandalf, having heard Frodo's decision, closed his eyes. He was more than proud of the young Hobbit, but worried at the same time as he knew what perils his Halfling friend was going to have to go through for the task he'd just agreed to. The members of the Council turned towards Frodo in astonishment.

"I will take the Ring to Mordor," Frodo said, determined. His expression turned from determination to being unsure. "Though," he started then. "I do not know the way."

Gandalf walked towards Frodo, determined to help him in this quest. "I will help you bear this burden, Frodo Baggins, as long as it is yours to bear," he said, placing his hand on Frodo's shoulder reassuringly.

Aragorn then stood up and made his way towards the Hobbit. "If by my life or death, I can protect you, I will," he said, kneeling in front of Frodo. "You have my sword."

"And you have my bow," Legolas said, walking towards them to join them.

"And my axe!" Gimli exclaimed, joining the group as well.

Boromir thought for a second, then walked over to them. "You carry the fate of us all, little one," he said to Frodo. "If this is indeed the will of the Council, then Gondor will see it done."

"Heh!" Sam's voice came from behind the bushes. He hurried towards them and stood beside Frodo. "Mr. Frodo is not goin' anywhere without me!"

"No, indeed," Lord Elrond spoke, slightly amused by the scene. "It is hardly possible to separate you even when he is summoned to a secret Council and you are not."

Merry and Pippin then emerged from behind pillars, realizing that their friends were going to leave. "Wait! We are coming too!" they shouted.

Elrond's expression went from amused to somewhat annoyed when they ran to join them as well.

"You'd have to send us home tied up in a sack to stop us," Merry said in an attempt to convince the Council to let them join the group.

"Anyway, you need people of intelligence on this sort of mission… quest… _thing_," Pippin added.

"Well, that rules _you_ out, Pip," Merry whispered to his friend.

Gandalf eyed the Elf Lord in an amused manner, wondering what Elrond would make of this and what he was thinking about the Hobbits who had just decided to join the quest.

Lord Elrond looked at the nine members in front of him. A small smile formed his lips. "Nine companions," he mused. "So be it! You shall be the Fellowship of the Ring!" he announced.

"Great!" Pippin exclaimed. "Where are we going?"

Merry shot a slightly pointed look in the direction of his friend at his question. Pippin always chose exactly the wrong times to ask the wrong questions. Thankfully, Pippin's foolish question remained unheard by the rest as their attention was drawn towards something else.

Something that appeared as a mixture of both dark clouds and lightning appeared right above the pedestal where the Ring was resting. The atmosphere grew darker in a similar way as right before Gandalf chanted in the Black Speech.

Lord Elrond turned to look at the Wizard to inquire whether this was his doing. But Gandalf himself was also wondering what was going on.

"What is that, Gandalf?" Frodo asked, looking up at the Wizard.

"I don't know, Frodo," Gandalf answered, his eyes fixed on the portal. He was sure Rivendell was a safe place to discuss their matter in secrecy, but what if the Enemy had somehow managed to find out about the secret Council and if he had overheard what they were planning? Had his earlier chanting been the cause of this?

The members of the Council glanced at each other in fear and worry about what was going on.

"What devilry is this?" Boromir asked.

"Is this the doing of the Enemy? Is it the Ring?" a man asked.

Realizing that the Ring was still on the pedestal below the portal, Frodo hurried towards the pedestal.

"Frodo!" Aragorn called out.

"Mr. Frodo!" Sam yelled after Aragorn, urging the Hobbit to stay out of harm's way.

The Hobbit grabbed the Ring to make sure that it would not be taken by whatever magic was conjured there.

"Frodo, come back!" Aragorn called again. There was no telling what was going on, and who was behind the creation of the portal.

Frodo took a few steps backwards. Aragorn went to stand next to the Hobbit, making sure that he would be able to protect him if the need would arise.

"What is going on?" Pippin asked to his friend.

"I don't know, Pip," Merry answered, not looking away from the portal.

"Gandalf, can you stop this?" Lord Elrond asked.

Gandalf pointed his staff and his other free hand at the portal. He closed his eyes as he concentrated. Nothing happened.

Several people gasped when, all of a sudden, a number of screams started to fill the area. They got louder and louder as they came closer. Gandalf's eyes widened when the sound of the screams got at its peak, just when its source was about to emerge from the portal. He prayed that whatever or whoever was about to come out of it, they would be friendly and not subject to the Enemy.

To every Council member's biggest surprise, several people appearing as children started to fall out of the portal. Each of them landed on top of the pedestal where the Ring was resting earlier, then jumped and stood in front of the pedestal, facing the members of the Council. This continued until they all surrounded the pedestal.

The newcomers looked very different from anyone they had ever met, especially the bald boy with arrows on his head and hands who had appeared first. Who were these people, how had they come there and what kind of magic did they possess were the things that everyone present was wondering.

There was a short silence, as no one really knew how to start or what to say, until there was another loud, high-pitched scream that filled the area…

ooooo

**To be continued…**


	7. Chapter 7: A Council Interrupted, Pt II

**Author's Notes:**

First of all, thank you all so much for your reviews. You have no idea how flattered I am to know that you enjoy my story so much!

Here's the next chapter. I was really nervous about this one, as the members of Team Avatar and the people of Middle-Earth meet here for the first time. I really really hope you'll like it!

_Answer of a question:_  
There was a question in an anonymous review about why I didn't include Azula and Ty Lee (and Mai also) in the story. In my interpretation of everything that happened after Zuko's coronation (the end of the A:TLA show), Azula was either imprisoned just like her father or going through some kind of mental health care (the latter has been confirmed in part three of the comic book sequel: "Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise"). We saw that Ty Lee joined the Kyoshi Warriors, so she's with them and not with Team Avatar for the same reason why the other Kyoshi Warriors aren't. I did mention Mai in this story briefly as she's Zuko's girlfriend. But she won't be involved in the story any further.

Another reason why I didn't add them to Team Avatar is because the way Team Avatar was last defined in the A:TLA show by Sokka (episode: Sozin's Comet Part 1: The Phoenix King) was with Katara, Toph, Zuko, Aang, Suki and himself. They had ended the war as a team, and I decided not to change that team in this story. I hope this answers the question..

Enjoy this chapter!

* * *

Chapter 7: A Council Interrupted – Part II

The members of Team Avatar woke up from their meditation from an electric-like sound above them when the portal was fully formed. Everyone looked up to the blue portal.

"What's that sound?" Toph asked.

"I think that's our way to Middle-Earth," Aang responded, looking at the portal. When he realized what was about to happen, he yelled, "Everyone hold on tight!"

They held on to each other and their belongings tightly as they were sucked up into the portal. They screamed as they were transported in a rapid speed by an immense force, surrounded by a bright blue light. Their speed caused them to lose each other's hands. Toph screamed out loud when her hand slipped from Katara's.

"Toph!" Katara yelled when she was unable to grab Toph's arm again.

Lucky enough, Suki was able to catch the blind Earthbender right in time.

"This is terrifying! When will it stop?!" Toph yelled.

"Just hold on to my hand, Toph! It'll be okay," Suki yelled back. She herself wasn't feeling all too comfortable with this way of travelling, let alone Toph who couldn't even see what was going on exactly.

Zuko tried to steady himself. "How long do you think this will take?" he asked to the Avatar.

"I have no idea!" Aang yelled back.

The loudest non-stopping screams probably came from Sokka. He was behind everyone, and had a difficult time steadying himself. "If we… come out of this thing… alive…" he started. "I will never… ever complain… about difficult situations again! Aaaaahh!"

"I think I can see the end of this thing!" Aang yelled. He was in front of everyone, and could see something at the end of the portal. It was some sort of pedestal that became clearer when he got closer. "Everyone, be careful when you get there," Aang warned them.

Aang fell out of the portal head down. He landed on the pedestal on his hands, lucky enough not on the shards that appeared to have been an axe before. He did a somersault and landed on his feet, right in front of two people whom Aang recognized to be a Man and the other a Hobbit. They looked very surprised to see the newcomer standing there.

After Aang followed Zuko, Katara, Suki and Toph, each landing on the pedestal, then jumping in front of it until they were surrounding it.

Toph was a bit dizzy from the journey. "That was by far the worst way of travelling," she mumbled to herself, inaudible to the rest.

The members of Team Avatar then stared in front of them at the people staring back at them in astonishment. There was a silence. No one really knew where to start or what to say.

When Aang looked around, he could recognize the different races that were present. Elves, Dwarfs, Hobbits, Men, and one old person carrying a staff who was probably a Wizard. Thankfully, there were no dark creatures, and taking in the beautiful environment, he was sure they had arrived in a proper place. All they had to do now was convince all the present people that they were there to help them. They were probably wondering whom they were anyway, judging from the looks on their faces.

The silence was then interrupted by another high-pitched scream, appearing to be Sokka's. When the screams got louder, indicating that Sokka was nearing the end of the portal, Aang used his Airbending to remove the shards of the axe from the pedestal, shooting them into a pillar. Some gasps of surprise were heard at that action. Right then, Sokka landed on top of the pedestal on his face and his butt up in the air, his screams coming to an end when he landed with a grunt. The portal disappeared.

"Ouch," he revealed. "I hate not being able to bend my own way into places like this," he then muttered as he sat up clumsily. He was always the dupe whenever it came to… anything basically. And he clearly didn't like it.

"Sokka…"

"What?!" he snapped at his sister. When he looked at her, he realized that everyone was staring at him. He smiled goofily and got off the pedestal. "Oh.. um.. hello everyone…" he said hesitatingly, scratching his head. "… I think." He wondered whether the people from Middle-Earth could even understand him or not.

Toph recovered from the journey, and only then was she able to sense the amount of people present, but more importantly, the size and beauty of the place they had come to. "Woah," Toph whispered to herself. "This place is beautiful," she said in awe.

"Yes, it is," Katara replied in a whisper. She took in their surroundings, noticing the beautiful view around them. She then looked back at the people they had just interrupted, wondering what was going to happen next.

The Council members eyed each other suspiciously. They examined all the teenagers in front of them, all appearing to be armed. They seemed like some kind of warriors. The first to have entered was a bald child, carrying some sort of staff. Especially strange were the arrow marks on his head and hands. The next was taller and appeared to be older, perhaps the oldest. He carried swords on his back and had a rather big scar on his face. Next to him was a teenage girl, wearing blue, her hair braided. She had a kind expression on her face. The next was another girl, clad in green. She carried a sword and something else in her belt. Next to her was a short girl, also wearing green. She seemed to be blind, yet she had commented on the beauty of Rivendell. She looked quite determined and fearless, considering the fact that she was blind. The ponytailed boy to have entered last wore something similar to the girl in blue. Compared to the rest, he made the impression of being of little intelligence and not very strong. Yet he carried a sword, and some other tool. Everyone wondered who these children were, what kind of magic it was that the bald boy had used exactly and how they had created the portal that had brought them there.

"What kind of people are they?" an inquisitive Pippin whispered to Merry.

"Never seen anybody like them before, Pip," was Merry's answer.

"What is the meaning of this?" one of the advisors of Lord Elrond's household asked. "How did you enter the secret Council of Lord Elrond?"

"My Lord," another of Elrond's advisors started. "What are we to do with the intruders?"

Elrond didn't answer, but decided to question the intruders about whom they were and how they had gotten there himself. He stepped forward and addressed the strangers. "Thousands of years have I, Elrond of Rivendell, walked the Earth and yet never have I met anyone who meets your appearances or who has ever been able to conjure the kind of magic that you just did," he said, looking at the arrow-tattooed boy as he was the one who'd used his Bending, and referring to the portal. "Who are you, and how did you enter Rivendell?" Elrond asked sternly.

"We're-," Aang started, but he was cut off by someone.

"They must be spies… Spies of the Enemy!" a man shouted. "They must have come to answer the Wizard's chanting in the Black Speech!" he cried.

"No, we're not spies!" Aang replied in protest.

"We cannot trust them!" Boromir stated, in agreement with the man who had spoken before. "If we do they'll destroy us, and they'll take the Ring. Or worse, give it to Sauron!"

At that comment, Aang became sure that they really had come to the right place as the Ring was probably there, and that they had met the right people whom they had to convince that they were there to help them. Only, it didn't seem like the convincing part would be as easy as he had thought it'd be.

Several people started to argue again, accusing the newly arrived people of many things, including them being minions of the Dark Lord. The people of Middle Earth couldn't reach a decision about whether to listen to the newcomers or not, and if they could be trusted. Some were of the opinion to imprison them, never to release them in order to protect their secret quest.

"Give us a chance to explain ourselves!" Aang shouted, but his voice was unheard by the rest. The Avatar turned to his friends. "They won't listen."

"How are we going to prove that we're on their side?" Suki asked.

Sokka had his thinking face up. His friends wondered what kind of genius plan he'd come up with this time. "The first step would be getting their attention," he stated.

"Not a problem," Toph said, cracking her knuckes.

"No, Toph," Aang said. "No Bending yet. Remember that they don't know anything about our abilities yet. They could think that we're trying to attack them."

"Then what do you suggest?" Zuko asked the Avatar.

"Talk to their leader?" Katara suggested, looking at Elrond. The Elf Lord was seated, his mind seeming to be filled with worry.

"Good idea!" Sokka said. "Let me handle it!" He started to make his way to Elrond, but was stopped by his sister.

"No offense, Sokka," Katara started. "But you didn't quite make the right first impression when you came here."

Sokka sighed. "Right."

"It's okay, Sokka," Suki said. "As the Avatar, Aang should be the one to do the talking anyway."

The Avatar looked at Elrond, then at the other people around them. He noticed that a Hobbit was staring at him. The Hobbit seemed to be in lost in thoughts, probably as he was thinking about what was going on. Aang noticed that he was clutching something in his fist. If he was clutching what Aang thought he was clutching, then that must have been the Hobbit he had turned into in his visions. The man standing behind the Hobbit hadn't mingled himself in the commotion that was going on. He held the Hobbit's shoulder protectively, yet there was a kindness towards the newcomers on his face. He'd probably give them a chance.

Aang then jumped on top of the pedestal and shouted, "Everyone! Please hear us out!"

The arguments slowly started to die down, and everyone looked up to the boy standing on the pedestal where the Ring had been resting earlier.

"Arguing amongst yourselves isn't going to help decide whether we're on your side or not, and that most certainly will not help you defeat the Dark Lord in time," Aang said.

Gandalf was rather impressed with the way the boy was talking to them. Arguing would indeed not be wise for them if they wanted to be successful in their quest. The boy also seemed rather mature for his age, judging by the way he addressed the Council. He sounded like a leader.

"Allow us to give you a proper introduction of who we are, where we're from and why we're here," Aang continued. He looked down to Elrond. "Will you give us a chance to do so?"

Aragorn stepped forward and looked at Lord Elrond. "I would hear what they have to say."

"We have a journey to prepare, a quest to fulfill," Boromir spoke. "We cannot waste time on listening to any strangers who drop in."

"We just saw a glimpse of the power they possess. If they are on our side, they could be of great help," Aragorn argued. "Especially now that Saruman has betrayed us, we could use all the help we can get."

Boromir shook his head in disagreement. "They're just children! Since when does Middle-Earth lack Men, Elves and Dwarfs powerful enough to fight against the Dark Lord that we have to join _children_ to our quest?"

"Mind who you're calling children," Toph muttered, at which Katara nudged her in the side.

"Shh!" the Waterbender shushed her.

"I don't like him," Toph snapped whispering, based on everything that man had said since they'd gotten there. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and blew a stray of hair from her face.

"That makes two of us," Zuko added.

Gandalf cleared his throat, grabbing the attention of the rest. "I too am interested to hear what they have to say," the Wizard started. "But since not every member of the Fellowship agrees, let the Ringbearer decide."

Frodo looked up in surprise. "Me?"

So this really was the one with the Ring and the Hobbit he had turned into, Aang thought.

Gandalf nodded to Frodo in reply.

Frodo looked at Aang standing on the pedestal. "I would hear them out," was the Hobbit's decision.

"Thank you," Aang said. Taking a deep breath, he started, "You were right that we're not from Middle-Earth. We come from a different world."

"A different world, you say?" Gimli asked. "That sounds like spy-talk to me!"

"We're not spies! We're on your side!" Sokka interrupted. "If you let him talk, he'll explain everything!"

"We only found out about the existence of multiple dimensions of the Earth a few days ago, Middle-Earth being one of them," Aang explained. "The world we come from is divided into four nations, much like you have the different races of Men, Elves, Dwarfs and so on. Our nations are based on the four elements of Water, Earth, Fire and Air. In each nation, some people are born with the special ability of controlling their element. These people are called Benders. Power is spread equally among each nation, but there is one Bender who masters all four elements; the Avatar."

"Yes, and that is him!" Sokka exclaimed proudly, pointing towards Aang.

The Council members looked at Aang, in awe, wondering what powers he possessed.

"Sokka!" Katara hissed. "Don't interrupt him!"

A rather impressed Lord Elrond took in the information that had just been revealed. "Are you related to Iluvatar, Avatar?" he asked in genuine curiosity.

Aang raised an eyebrow, at first not sure who Elrond was talking about. But then he remembered it from the books he'd read about Middle-Earth. "You mean, the one who created the world according to your history?"

"Yes, he who created Ea," Elrond answered.

"I don't suppose I am," Aang replied. "It wasn't the Avatar who created our world."

"What is the duty of the Avatar then, considering the amount of power he possesses?" Aragorn asked. He was rather intrigued by everything the Avatar had revealed so far.

"It's the duty of the Avatar to maintain order and balance in the world, and to restore the balance if it ever gets disrupted," Aang explained. "When the Avatar dies, he is reborn in another nation. And so the cycle goes on for the world to remain peaceful and balanced," he said, and then went on to finally introduce himself and his friends, "My name is Aang, and as you already know, I'm the Avatar. This is Katara, a Waterbender. Toph, the greatest Earthbender in our world, and this is Zuko, a Firebender and the Fire Lord of the Fire Nation. These Benders have helped me master their elements, as I was born as an Airbender," he introduced, then moved on, "This is Suki, a Kyoshi Warrior from our Earth Kingdom, named after one of the Avatars before me. And this is Sokka, Katara's brother and a warrior from the Water Tribe."

"It is quite an honor to meet you, young masters of the elements," Gandalf greeted them as he took in what powers and skills the newcomers possessed. "Would you enlighten us with the reason of your visit to Middle-Earth?"

"Of course," Aang answered. "Until a few days ago, I believed that my duty as the Avatar was to my world alone. But then I had a vision. A vision that showed me what would happen to Middle-Earth if Sauron would win. I knew then that I had to help you restore balance to Middle-Earth. My friends decided to come with me. We're here to join you."

Katara also stepped forward. "Aang is right. We're here to help you defeat Sauron and to save Middle-Earth."

"That is very much appreciated," Gandalf spoke. He turned to Elrond. "Having these Benders as our allies would be extremely beneficial for our quest," he said as if suggesting something to the Elf Lord.

Meanwhile, Aang jumped off the pedestal, now standing between his friends. "So, do you have any plans already of how to defeat him?"

"To defeat Sauron, the One Ring must be destroyed," Elrond answered. "For that, the Fellowship of nine companions shall travel to Mordor where the Ring was made. There, the Ring will be cast into Mount Doom by the Ringbearer, the only place in the world where the Ring can be unmade."

'Of course,' Aang thought to himself when he realized it. That was where Sauron made the Ring, and Sauron only survived because the Ring hadn't been destroyed when he was first defeated by Isildur. It now made complete sense to the Avatar.

"Could you introduce us to the members of the Fellowship?" Suki asked.

"This is Aragorn, son of Arathorn and heir of Isildur," Elrond started. Aragorn bowed his head slightly as he was introduced. "This is Gandalf the Grey, a Wizard." Gandalf gave a small smile and a nod in reply. "Legolas, son of Thranduil, an Elf from Mirkwood."

Legolas bowed his head. "It is an honor to meet you, Avatar."

"This is Gimli, son of Glóin, a Dwarf," Elrond continued. "Boromir of Gondor, son of Denethor. And these four Hobbits are from the Shire. Meriadoc Brandybuck, Peregrin Took, Samwise Gamgee and Frodo Baggins, the Ringbearer," he finished.

"You can just call me Merry," Merry said with a bow.

"And me Pippin," the Took added, following Merry's gesture.

"Nice to meet y'all!" Aang exclaimed.

Aang then looked at Frodo, the Ringbearer, as he was now sure it was him he'd turned into. "How is your shoulder?" he asked suddenly. When everyone looked at him as if he had three heads, he continued, "You were stabbed by that evil King, weren't you?"

The Council members all wondered how Aang could know this while he hadn't been in Middle-Earth when the incident had happened on Weathertop.

"Yes, I was stabbed by a Ringwraith, one of the Nazgul," Frodo admitted. "But how do you know this?" he then asked.

"I had two visions about Middle-Earth. In both of my visions I turned into you. I saw the Great Eye the first time, and in the second, I felt you getting stabbed in your shoulder," Aang explained.

"Those were the times I put on the Ring," Frodo said softly, thinking back of the incidents that the Avatar just described. He held his shoulder, the one that was stabbed as he looked at Aang. "My shoulder is fine, though."

"You came here to join us, Avatar," Lord Elrond then started. "We offer you our gratitude," he said. "I had intended the companions of the Fellowship to be few, since the quest is one that requires speed and secrecy. Nine was the preferred number as there are nine Ringwraiths out there. If you are to join the Fellowship, there will be fifteen companions." He was willing to let the people from the other world join the Fellowship. He trusted them and he respected their powers greatly. Only, the greater the number of companions, the greater also the risk of their secret to be revealed and the journey to be delayed.

"Don't worry about that, Elrond sir. We've had to travel our world before when we had to end a war of our own. We won't slow down the journey to Mordor," Aang said as a matter of fact. "And we are really good at keeping secrets," he added with a proud smile.

"Very well," Elrond spoke. "You shall join the Fellowship, and that is how you will aid us in the quest of the Ring."

"And together we will be "The Ring Destructor's Company!" Sokka announced proudly.

"What is it with you and the goofy names for everything?" Toph asked.

Sokka shrugged his shoulders. "It is a gift."

"The Company of the Ring will do just fine," Elrond spoke, slightly amused by the Water Tribe warrior.

"The Fellowship of the Ring also sounded kinda nice," Aang said in a considerate manner. "Anyway, it's really nice to be part of the Fellowship. Now we can help you defeat Sauron."

Boromir scoffed in disagreement. "Perhaps a demonstration of your 'abilities' before we decide to join you with the Fellowship?"

Zuko drew out his swords. "Gladly," he said with a slight tone of hatred towards the man of the South.

"My pleasure," Toph said in addition. Deciding to go easy, she dropped her metal stick, and raised a boulder from the Earth below her.

Several eyes widened in amazement at that display.

"Boromir!" Elrond called.

"Zuko, Toph," Aang said. "Put your weapons away."

"Do you question my decision?" the Elf Lord asked to the man.

"Forgive me, Lord Elrond," Boromir said. Since everyone was so content with joining the children to the Fellowship, he finally decided to let it rest.

"Starting in an unfriendly way doesn't seem very wise to me," Aang whispered to his friends as they still had their weapons raised.

Zuko put his swords back and Toph put the rock down. Both looked at Boromir in an annoyed manner.

"I'm sure you'll see plenty of Bending on the way to Mordor," Katara mused to Boromir, 'reassuring' him that he didn't have to worry about it.

"It is decided then," Elrond spoke. "Our scouts shall scour all the lands for many leagues to find out about the Ringwraiths' whereabouts. The Company of the Ring shall start the journey after the scouts return. Until then, this house shall be your home."

"You all must be weary from travelling between worlds. Why don't you get some rest first?" Gandalf suggested.

Sokka had been taking in their surroundings for a while. He turned to Elrond. "Would you grant us permission to take a look around this place, your Elfiness?"

Elrond smiled in amusement at the boy's request and his rather queer way of addressing him. "Of course."

"Thank you," he said, his voice still serious. Then he turned to his friends, "See y'all later!" He started to take off to explore the valley.

"Hey Sokka! How 'bout a race to the top of that hill?" Aang then suggested.

Sokka looked up at the hill Aang was referring to and turned back to the Avatar. "You're on."

Aang cheered in excitement, the child in him awakening. He created an air scooter and took off, laughing out loud as he did, nearly blowing Sokka away as he moved past him with great speed.

"Hey! No Bending!" Sokka yelled in protest. He chased after Aang.

"Nice place you got!" Aang called from a distance.

The members of the Council were rather amused by the scene.

"I guess the child in them has come up again," Katara spoke.

When she looked towards them, she noticed that Suki had also taken off behind the other two. Using her own skills, she passed her boyfriend with ease, though she wasn't fast enough to gain on the Airbender.

Suddenly Katara felt like joining them too. She smiled as she figured out a strategy to get to the peak of the hill the others had started to climb. Using her Bending, she revealed the water that was stored in her pouch. Creating wave after wave, she surfed as she took part in the race.

"Wait up!" Toph exclaimed. She started to Earth skate behind the others, leaving a large trail of dust behind her.

Zuko watched his friends racing each other, and noticed how Suki, Katara and Toph went past Sokka who clearly thought of the whole race to be unfair. The young Fire Lord then faced Boromir. "There's your demonstration."

The Fire Lord himself didn't take part with the race. He just watched his friends from where he was standing.

The two most inquisitive members of the Fellowship ran past Zuko and closer to the hill to get a better view of the race competition. Even the other members tried to get a closer look, as they were all curious about what the Benders were capable of.

"That is really great," Pippin stated, gazing at the scene in admiration.

"Yes it is, Pip," Merry said in reply and looked at his friend. "I think we will get along greatly."

"What are you thinking, Lord Elrond?" an amused Gandalf asked.

Elrond smiled. "I'm thinking that we did the right thing. Things are looking up."

"They are indeed."

ooooo

**To be continued...**


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